Sunday Seven || January Nineteeth.20

Happy Sunday, friends! We’re on day two of our three day weekend (no daycare or work for us tomorrow due to the holiday/remembrance of MLK Jr.). It’s always nice to have this long weekend so shortly after holiday break.

I think our extra day off will be spent with some Valentine’s Day activities for Ivy and meal prepping for me. I’m trying to get my meal prepping done on Sunday’s but am pushing to Monday this week due to the holiday. I have my meal plan ready, so shopping and prepping will be the last step.

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Tidy the Kitchen

If you checked out last week’s Sunday Seven post, you would have read that decluttering and organizing is a big focus for me in 2020. I have yet to kick off the 30-day challenge I mentioned in that post, but the kitchen will like be at the top of the list when I do.

I read “How to Declutter the Kitchen” over on the Clean Mama blog and it’s packed with great tips and steps to take during the declutter process. I’m definitely loving her declutter station with the 4 buckets to keep, toss, donate or relocate. I may need a trip to Ikea to get those cute buckets too. Because decluttering is always more fun when you have cute stuff to look at. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

If You Build It, It Will Get Organized

I’m talking about book storage, clearly. Ivy’s attention span is short and her toy rotation game is strong. But she always comes back to her books. She’ll sit for a good 20 minutes or more (which can seem like a lifetime in mom minutes) to read. And I totally love and encourage her love of books. It’s one thing I don’t mind buying for her.

I know there’s other mama’s out there who can relate. And probably like myself, you’re looking for a way to help keep them in one spot. So I had to save this post from Kelle Hampton‘s blog on DIY End of Bed Book Shelves. She provides step-by-step instructions and it seems super easy. Especially for those of us who don’t have a ton of experience with tools.

Ding Dong, My Diet’s Dead

Ok, not really. I mean, at least not totally dead. But when I came across this Easy Copycat Ding Dong Cake on the Picky Palate I saved it immediately to my Pinterest dessert board. I think this would make the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert by baking it in the shape of a heart. Wouldn’t you agree?

Family Command Center DIY

I never really knew family command centers were a thing until my mother-in-law’s interior designer told me about it. I mean, they totally make sense. Especially for parents who have a lot of activities to manage (which is like all parents, right?).

Right now we don’t have a command center, but I certainly think we need one. And when I get around to creating it, this DIY Dry Erase Wall Calendar from The Merrythought will be on the list. I’m a list-maker so this will help with the weekly tasks that need attention without having so much paper waste.

Hello Glow

Have you ever checked out the Hello Glow blog? It’s seriously jam-packed with healthy and natural recipes for skincare, food and aromatherapy. There’s so much goodness to read.

In addition to the amazing website, they also have two books out so you can have the recipes at a hands reach. One (Hello Glow) has more than 150 easy, natural beauty recipes and the other (Essential Glow) is a guide and recipes for using essential oils. The ingredients are pretty easy to find if you don’t have them on-hand already.

The photos in both books are beautiful so they’re great to set out for guests to page through. Or perfect for a gift for your bestie!

Hearts for Moms

I’ve always enjoyed holidays, but since having Ivy they’re just so much more fun. I think Valentine’s Day is my second favorite holiday to celebrate with her (Christmas will always be #1). Because really, who doesn’t love to celebrate a holiday about love with their kiddo(s)?

Each year I give her a Valentine’s basket, which usually includes pajamas, a book and some other little Valentine’s-themed goodies. I’m planning to show on Instagram what’s in this year’s basket, so be sure to follow along there if you’re in need of inspiration for a basket of your own.

This year, though, I kind of want to show my Valentine’s spirit too. So when I saw this shirt over on Amazon, I figured it’d be a fun Valentine’s addition to my closet. Valentine’s Day is on a Friday this year, so it’s perfect for those of you who have casual Friday dress days at work!

Valentine’s Activity for Preschoolers

I mentioned earlier that Ivy will be doing some Valentine’s activities on our extra day off tomorrow. I came across this heart hole punch activity (via Pinterest) on the Early Learning Ideas blog and think it’s one Ivy will love. It’s a perfect activity for improving her fine motor skills.

Before We Go

I posted about our potty training experience yesterday. If you’re about to get started on potty training your daughter or son, I outline what we did to get started, what items are necessary and how the approach worked for our family. I hope you will stop by to give it a read and let me know what you think!